Show pieces

The centre of Bradford has some lovely and historic old buildings that they are working hard to keep in good shape and in use. It would have had more if it weren't for the mass destruction of Victoriana that took place in the 1970s, replacing some lovely old buildings, including the Kirkgate market, with Brutalist concrete monstrosities. In recent years many of those have been demolished in their turn, creating the spaces that are now part of another radical plan to transform and update the city. 

The Alhambra Theatre, above left, opened in 1914 and has since had several adaptations, the most recent being in the 1980s, when the 'glass box' was added to the front to increase the useable space 'front of house'. I think it was a very successful refurbishment and the theatre is a lovely place to go to see a show (though pricey, of course!) 

What is now Bradford Live, above right, was once the Odeon cinema (where I spent many happy hours in my student days). The art deco building opened in 1930 as a cinema and was one of the first to show 'talkies', finally closing in 2000. It then lay derelict and in increasingly bad shape until a visionary plan arose to revamp it as a live music venue. The progress was bumpy and the Council, who put a lot of money into it, looked on shaky ground when the original developer pulled out. Thankfully it has been taken over and just reopened. I don't know if it will host any shows I'd like to see but it looks fabulous inside, from pictures I've seen. 

The other jewel in Bradford's crown since the early 1980s is the Science and Media Museum, one of the few national museums not situated in London. Sadly, the wonderful photographic archive it originally held when it was opened, which led to some truly memorable photography exhibitions, has been hived off to the V&A in London, leaving the Media Museum to concentrate more on the technical aspects of photography, film and TV.